New Limits Established for Arsenic in Drinking Water (1/02)

The following column by GAP Senior Advisor John Dragonetti is reprinted from
the January/February 2002 issue of The Professional Geologist, a publication
of the American Institute of Professional Geologists
. It is reprinted with permission.

When Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 1996, it directed
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a new standard for arsenic
levels in the nation's drinking water. For nearly fifty years the national standard
has been set at 50 parts per billion (ppb). Under the amended the act, EPA was
to establish a research strategy to support the rulemaking process as well as
to clarify the health risks associated with arsenic exposure. This process has
taken the agency several years and resulted in several reports from the EPA
Science Advisory Board and the National Academy of Sciences's National Research
Council (NRC). According to the 1999 NRC report entitled Arsenic in Drinking
Water, the 50 ppb standard did not "achieve the EPA's goal for public health
protection" and that it should be revised down "as promptly as possible,"
but the report did not say what level the standard should be lowered to in order
to protect public health.

In June 2000, the EPA requested public comments on the four possible options
for a revised limit: 3, 5, 10, and 20 ppb. After reviewing the comments and
other reports on both the health and cost aspects of decreasing the standard,
the EPA announced that it would move forward with the adoption of a 10 ppb national
standard. On January 22, 2001, the EPA reported in the Federal Register that
the 10 ppb regulation would go into effect starting in March and that water
systems would have until 2006 to fully implement the standard. The incoming
Bush Administration placed a hold on this announcement, and several other standards,
in order to review them and possibly revise them further. As part of the review,
the administration commissioned the NRC to do a second study, specifically addressing
any new data available that might require any modification in the proposed standard.
The study update, which was released in September 2001, noted that the studies
in Taiwan and northern Chile used in previous attempts to develop a lower limit
for arsenic exposure are adequate to determine health risks -- an issue that
many groups had in the use of a linear no-threshold model for establishing risks.

Recent ActionAs a Halloween gift to the nation, EPA Administrator Christie
Todd Whitman announced that the agency would adopt the previously announced
revised arsenic standard of 10 ppb, down from the long-standing 50 ppb. Whitman
said in her letter to Congress announcing the adoption, "a standard of
10 ppb protects public health based on the best available science and ensures
that the cost of the standard is achievable." The months of review have
not changed the implementation date for water systems, which must meet the revised
standards by 2006 or apply for a temporary exemption. Many environmental groups
strongly support an even lower standard of 3 ppb, but agriculture, forestry,
and industrials groups have voiced strong opposition to such a low standard,
and even in some cases the 10 ppb level, as being too great of an economic burden
for smaller water systems.

Whitman also announced that the EPA has earmarked $20 million to develop cost-effective
technologies to help smaller community systems to meet the new standard. Several
members of Congress have applauded the EPA action but believe that there needs
to be more done to address the issues facing smaller water systems and regions
with extremely high level of naturally occurring arsenic. Bipartisan legislation
has been introduced that would provide grants to help meet the revised standard.
Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada), who introduced the Senate version of the legislation
(S. 305), praised the new limit but stated in a press release that "communities
will need help if they are to comply with the standard." S. 305 and its
House companion bill, H.R. 1178, introduced by Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-Nevada),
would amend the SDWA to establish a $750 million fund for States and Native
American Tribes to help provide the needed capital to improve infrastructure
and achieve the new 10 ppb standard.

House Science Hearing
Shortly before Administrator Whitman announced the adoption on the 10 ppb standard,
the revised arsenic limits had been the topic of several reports and a hearing
on Capitol Hill. In early October, the House Science Subcommittee on Environment,
Technology and Standards heard testimony concerning three reports that addressed
the state of the knowledge on the science, benefits, and costs of regulating
arsenic in drinking water. In addition to the updated NRC report on arsenic
in drinking water, the subcommittee heard from witnesses regarding reports by
the EPA Science Advisory Board and the National Drinking Water Advisory Committee,
which commented on the need for the EPA to look closely at the costs associated
with a revised standard. Both reports made recommendations that EPA should look
at the possibility of setting standards by system size, to help make sure that
the cost-benefit ratio is attainable for smaller communities. Testimony by the
National Rural Water Association's representative anticipates dramatically increased
water costs in the smaller systems and suggested that Congress work to create
a "Sustainability Fund" as an extension of the Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund. Some of the witnesses who oppose the 10 ppb standard claimed
that the standard was based on policy rather than science.

The Future
According to a Congressional Research Service report on arsenic, only 753 of
the nation's 54,352 community water systems serve more than 50,000 people. Over
96 percent of the community water systems subject to the EPA action are small
systems that service less than 10,000 people. In addition to the funding for
the development of cost-effective technologies, the federal government will
need to provide technical assistance and training for operators of small systems
with the intent of reducing compliance costs. There will also be an effort to
assist small communities to maximize grants and loans under the State Revolving
Fund and Rural Utilities Service programs. Just because the EPA has announced
the adoption of a 10 ppb standard does not mean that the issue of arsenic in
drinking water is now off the congressional radar.

This column is a bimonthly feature written by John J. Dragonetti, CPG-02779,
who is Senior Advisor to the American Geological Institute’s Government Affairs
Program.

This article is reprinted with permission from The Professional
Geologist, published by the American Institute of Professional Geologists.
AGI gratefully acknowledges that permission.